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This is the base of operations for Graham Lord.
From here I broadcast a mediocre blog of events that interest me, and the slow development of my on-going digital hub.

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22/02/10 12:18 / Flash: Shun it, ignore it, or live with it?

The multi-talented platform that is Adobe Flash has long since been a matter for debate. It started out by saving us from the horror of animating gifs to provide smooth animating graphics on websites. It killed two birds as well by providing basic interactive content, which saved us from the horror of early Java Script and early Java. The Java script was horrible because JS libraries weren't around, so anyone using JS had chunks of badly formatted code sufficient and charismatic enough to program a Terminator in their HTML source- and Java was a no-no, because Sun and Microsoft were pissed off with each other, so no one had a Java client installed. Flash was a magic bullet, because the flash client was so quick and easy to install, and Flash itself is practically a WYSIWYG application, meaning even casual website designers could have a go at making some animations, even if they didn't know Action Script.

When the novelty of the internet wore off and people actually started caring about website design, websites using Flash were often gimmicky and horrible, and this lead onto the next phase- the entire website designed and powered by flash. This resulted in some awesome websites being made, designs that were either extremely ergonomic, or a match for the GUIs you see in the movies. The problem that popped up, was that the Search Engine Wars were under way, and suddenly everyone cared about Search Engine Optimisation, the dark art that no one really takes seriously, but everyone wants on their website. Flash content isn't index by search engines, so suddenly all the people who had all the text and images being rendered by flash fell off the search engine results pages. Thus, Flash was frowned upon again. The genius web designers could code the website with a million-billion hidden keywords and other SEO tricks, but since most of the internet is not built by genius web designers, the problem still stood.

At this point, Java Script was making a come back, because JS Libraries like jQuery were making it very easy to write ergonomic and aesthetically pleasing design elements that allowed the website to change without refreshing (like Flash content), and animate (not as well as, but like Flash content), but still be properly searched (unlike Flash content). CSS also came in with a vengeance with all the casual web designers who didn't like using messy HTML tables, but couldn't see an alternative. Between Flash, JS, and CSS, Web 2.0 was born, where we no longer read the internet, but interact with it.

So now we reach this point we're currently at, where we generally use a mix of everything. And for a while, it was good- but once again the internet is changing. This started a couple of years ago, but has reached a point where it's becoming pivotal- I'm referring to Mobile Internet Devices. This term can pretty much be applied to any device which you can browse the internet on, that isn't a laptop or a desktop computer. Classic example of an MID is the modern mobile phone. Netbooks provide the link between the two categories, with MID hardware, but desktop software.

Now the problem with MIDs, is that many of them have limited support for Flash, JS and CSS. When MIDs first came into existence, this wasn't a big deal, since they were a novelty at best, but now with stuff like the iPhone, iPad, and the other myriad of smart phones, people are actually missing out on not having Flash content available. Websites don't look nice, and you generally only want to use your MID when there's nothing else available.

People like Apple are trying to change this- the point of the iPad is that it's nicer to use the internet on it than it is on a computer. This is a concept I whole heartedly endorse- a big restriction of the internet is it's anchorage to a computer, MIDs provide the means to get it into your hands, your car, desk, or wherever else you might be that prevents you having a laptop open in front of you. So we can't just ignore them.

But the big problem with Flash, is that in the eyes of an MID, it's badly written and implemented worse.
Even on my MacBook Pro, if I watch a few YouTube videos, I'll hear my CPU fan winding up to panic speed. Why do the simple tasks that Flash does require so much power? The primary reason for the iPhone not having flash, is that everything on the iPhone must run sandboxed, and modern Flash content wouldn't work in a Sandbox. Apple can't make an exception for Flash either, because it's got more security holes than a HMRC officer carrying my tax return home on a flash drive, and because of the CPU power Flash demands, it'll leak battery power like a bath without a plug. This applies not just to the iPhone, but any MID.
The ulterior motives for Apple not implementing Flash have had less press coverage, luckily for Apple, because they show up the business reasons, not the technical reasons. Most of the Apps on Apple's App Store could easily be entirely created in Flash, and hosted on the internet, which means you'd simply need bookmarks to said Flash Apps, and you'd never have to buy an App again. It would be less convenient than the App store, but the Jail Break community has proven that people are willing to sacrifice convenience and security for free stuff.

So here's the bottom line dilemma: Flash is a part of the modern internet, but it's rubbish. Do you implement what you know to be a bad system on the new generation of Internet Devices for backwards compatibility, or do you shun the big bad Adobe product now while we have the chance?
Or do we ignore the problem like most other MIDs are currently doing?
Apple don't want to compromise on the iPhone OS platform they've created- it's an Authoritarian Utopia, and it works perfectly, so long as the user can compromise a little. Apple don't have any reason to compromise either, because despite any shortcomings of their platform, the iPhone and it's sibling devices are the hottest gadgets on the planet.
Adobe have stood their ground for a while now, although they're visibly sulking, it's not the end of the world for them. But their enemies are gaining in number. Microsoft is onboard the anti-Flash bandwagon because they have a Flash competitor (Silverlight), which failed to break the monopoly, but combined with Apple's trend-setting, they've shown the world that it's okay to dislike Flash.
If a few more people jump on the bandwagon, Adobe will have to buckle to the market demands- but what would they do?

Personally, this casual web designer thinks they should make a Lite version of flash, which provides the basic visual effects and basic interactivity of Flash, but without the powerful backend that needs all those resources. That's a big compromise for Adobe, but if they don't move quick, Flash will become uncool, and standards much easier to implement like CSS3 and Java Script will replace Adobe's most distributed product.